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One deserving family
By KRISTINA RAPLEY
Fijian break: Helen Christian's daughter was murdered just before Christmas last year and her co-workers at Botany Downs Kindergarten have entered her into a Facebook
competition to win a dream holiday in Fiji.
Photo: FIONA GOODALL
Facebook photo:
This is the photo
you'll need to
click on to vote
for Helen and her
family.
HOW TO HELP
You have to be signed up
with Facebook to vote. Go to
www.fbcomp.co.nz/
deservingfamilies and scroll
through the entries until you
find Helen's photo.
You can vote every day until
March 31.
NOTHING will ever heal the
pain of losing a child so tragi-
cally.
But a holiday would be a
nice distraction from the day-
to-day struggle Helen
Christian faces after her
daughter was killed during a
domestic incident just before
Christmas last year.
You can help to send her on
holiday with just one click of
the mouse.
Lay Away Holidays is run-
ning a Facebook competition
to find the most deserving
family in New Zealand.
Whoever has the most
votes will get five nights
accommodation at the Fiji
Hideaway Resort and airfares
for two adults and two chil-
dren.
Helen's world was turned
upside down when a domestic
argument led to her 26-year-
old daughter Jackie Allister
being stabbed to death.
Jackie's attacker, partner
Ivor Christiansen, 36, then
killed himself.
Helen is now the fulltime
carer for their two-year-old
son Sean, and she looks after
her daughter's other two chil-
dren aged nine and six on
week days.
The police investigation
into the deaths that took
place at their Pakuranga
home is ongoing.
Helen has had little time to
grieve for her daughter
because her priority has been
getting the children back into
routines and supporting them
emotionally.
Sean was only 20 months
when it happened and he has
little understanding of where
his mummy has gone,'' the
Botany Downs Kindergarten
teacher says.
All he understands is that
mummyisinaboxandwego
and see her.
He really clung to me for
the first few months. He's
always asking to go home so
we continue to talk about
mummy -- and daddy too.''
Helen's 14-year-old daugh-
ter Sarah witnessed the
attack on her sister and was
the one who called police and
is still traumatised.
If they win the trip Helen
will take Sarah and Jackie's
three children, paying for
2-year-old Sean herself.
He just loves the water
and fish and fishing, he
would just absolutely love
Fiji,'' Helen says.
The kids have never been
on a family holiday before so
it will be amazing for them,''
she says.
Staff at Botany Downs Kin-
dergarten entered Helen into
the competition and are doing
everything they can to get
people voting.
This could happen to any-
one of us. Our lives can be
turned upside down in an
instant,'' head teacher Bron-
wyn Glass says.
It's hard to find a way to
help her so this is a good way
for us to support her, and it
doesn't cost anything.''